OKC Thunder: Why OKC Blue must push to participate in G-League bubble

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic still causing issues, the G-League is determined to have a season. Here is why the OKC Thunder will insist the Blue is there.

According to a recent ESPN article by Dave McMenamin, the G-League are pushing ahead with a bubble style season. However, due to the logistical nightmare of having 29 teams in a bubble, they are hoping that NBA teams will voluntarily not send their feeder teams. The OKC Thunder cannot be one of them.

In fact, the G-League is hoping to only have between 14 and 20 teams to help ease the pressure on logistics. Fortunately, it appears that ten teams including the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have opted-out of the season.

While the G-League is only waiting on a response from a couple of franchises, the OKC Thunder affiliate, the OKC Blue, should be one of those teams competing. The current Thunder roster is so inexperienced, they need the Blue active to help develop these younger players.

Why it is so important for the OKC Thunder to have a team in the bubble.

Last season the OKC Thunder used the Blue to help tune up some of their deep bench players. Deonte Burton and even Hamidou Diallo were sent back to get some minutes and shake off the rust prior to playing with the varsity squad. Abdel Nader looked like he should have been there at the start of the season.

However, this year, it is not going to be about getting bodies game ready, it is going to be about development. If a young player is struggling within the NBA setting, they can get back to the G-League, work on aspects of their game, and gain confidence back within themselves.

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

This is because the NBA is the toughest league in the world. Currently, the Thunder have ten players on their roster 22 years of age and younger. If one or more of them are struggling, knowing they are going to face another tough challenge when they might be down on confidence may impact them for an extended period.

This is why the NBA season is called a grind. It is not just the travel or the fatigue, it is the knowledge that you are playing against incredible talent every night as well. You need to be at the top of your game, mentally, every night to succeed. What 18-22 year old can do that on a losing team?

Now, the logistics of assigning and recalling players will not be as easy as in previous years. It is also unlikely players will be allowed to play for both teams on a single day as they have in the past. COVID protocols and location issues will prevent that.

This means that the Thunder will carefully consider who is with each team and how long they are going to be there. It may mean that both two-way guys play as many games as they can with the Blue between January and March as this will be the length of the G-League season.

Whatever happens, the G-League needs to be applauded for even getting a shortened season with less than two-thirds of their teams potentially started. This shows a commitment to these players and their future as potential professional athletes.